ABOUT US

Steve Friess is a 2011-12 recipient of the prestigious Knight-Wallace Fellowship at the University of Michigan, where he will be studying the impact of the rapid expansion of Vegas-style gaming on Asia. He's a podcaster, author and Vegas-based freelance journalist who writes regularly for USA Today, The New York Times, Newsweek and many others. His column, "The Strip Sense" appears every Thursday in the Las Vegas Weekly. His books include "Gay Vegas" from Huntington Press and Knopf Mapguides' "Las Vegas."Friess co-hosts the weekly celebrity interview podcast The Strip Podcast "The Strip" with his husband, Miles Smith, the executive producer at KSNV-TV, Channel 3. For four years, Steve also co-hosted The Petcast with Las Vegas Sun education scribe Emily Richmond.

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Thursday, April 8, 2010

The Wynn folks just called off their effort to get a license and build in Philadelphia. I've been accused via text and email from friends of being a bit of an instigator given that the publication of the above image -- I'm using it now that (a) it's over and (b) everyone else has -- was the first big public problem between Steve Wynn and the Pennsylvania Gaming Commission.

So I just asked Jennifer Dunne, the corporate spokeswoman. "No, this has absolutely nothing to do with that." Then she referred me back to the corporate statement from Steve Wynn:

"We are fascinated by the legalization of full gaming in Pennsylvania and stimulated by the opportunity that it presents for Wynn Resorts, but this particular project did not, in the end, present an opportunity that was appropriate for our company."

Wow. Philadelphia had a chance to put Atlantic City out of business once and for all with perhaps the most respected gaming operator and casino-resort designer in history and fouled it up. I'm sure the drama about my posting that image didn't help and maybe that was at least the start of Team Wynn realizing that the PA gang are a bit unstable and whiny. Given that the New Jersey board is doing everything it can to destroy its gaming business, that's a hard act to show up. This is like the Republicans screwing themselves six ways to Friday and allowing the Democrats to somehow revive their brand in time for November.

The Philadelphia press and Stiffs & Georges blogger David McKee are likely to write post-mortems that involve Wynn's ignorance of the development history of the neighborhood where the casino was to stand. But that's a red herring here; the conflict between the state gaming board, which chose a site, and the city, which feels trampled upon, is not the fault of any potential casino operator there. It's an internecine political drama. If it became Wynn's problem, shame on the two governmental bodies who scotched the deal.

Maybe this is why, as McGee picked up on recently, Wynn was sighted in Atlantic City kicking some tires recently? Seriously, would not a Wynn Atlantic City make you want to give that loserville another shot?

6
comments:

Tom M.
said...

This is so typical of the hidebound, corrupt city government and a former mayor, now governor, who simply can't keep his hands off the city's business. There has been tremendous local opposition to this and I am not surprised that the community would blow this opportunity.

There is no way on earth that Wynn will make an appearance in Atlantic City as an operator again - unless he buys out the Borgata at a big, big discount. AC is dying and it's a pit. NY will eventually have gaming and so will Philly. In the meantime, Delaware has racinos to the South sucking those quarters without the extra drive. Sands will have full casino gaming and a shorter drive from NYC in Bethlehem. In AC Revel is a closed project that is less than half complete. The other properties are tired and old.

Besides there are international opportunities and South Florida opening up. Those offer much better opportunities than AC.

Steve - When was the last time you were in AC? I was there in 07. To call it a public toilet in a Greyhound station isn't fair to the public toilet. I stayed at the Borgata and it's nice, but I would never, ever go back, and the people who do go there are soon going to have choices.

"One year ago, I stood in Las Vegas, introducing you to Encore, an all-suite hotel at Wynn Las Vegas. Now I'm following up with the best thing in the City of Brotherly Love: THIS...is Wynn Philadelphia."

The last time I was in AC I was amazed to see that on a weekend summer night around 2:30 am it was practically hooker city. An incredible dive. It's time may have passed. And to think that in the early 80's it was almost seen as a death knell to Las Vegas. In fact the first casino I ever entered was Wynn's Golden Nuggat.

THE STRIP FINALE

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